From the Ashes of Death
by JacGoBama16
Summary: Seven years after Atlantis returned to Earth, they send the city back to Pegasus. Upon returning, a new system of sensor buoys detects a derelict Ancient warship. With the crew reveled to still be alive, in stasis. The Atlantis team proceeds to enact a contingency plan and prepares to return the Ancients to their former glory and liberate the Galaxy from the Wraith.


For all intents and purpose I don't own the Stargate universe of anything related to it. Please feel free to critique and review.

Now enjoy and please review.

10,026 Years Ago

DESOLATE SOLAR SYSTEM

"Quickly, reroute the power from non-critical systems to the hyper drive." Shouted the Captain of the Lantean Warship as three wraith hiveships fired at them. The remains of a dozen more hives floated behind the surviving three as they continued to pursue the last surviving Lantean Battleship. The shields were failing and he knew if he didn't retreat it would be the end for him and his crew.

"Done Captain! Jumping to hyperspace"

"Wait no!" Shouted another crewmember as the ship launched itself into the now open hyperspace window. It exited two minutes later over a lightyear away in a lifeless star system with an uninhabited planet. Unknown to any of them and noticed too late by the crewmember the containment field for the deadly radiation emitted by the hyperdrive had been breached. Entering hyperspace had flooded the ship instantly and proceeded to kill the crew in less than two minutes. The final act of the captain was to drop the ship out of hyperspace and set the ship to slumber. Atlantis would never receive her cargo or her passengers. The war would continue until at last the Lanteans left Atlantis and returned to Earth.

10,018 YEARS AGO

Lantean Captain Renna Alya surveyed the remnants of her devastated ship. Her battlecruiser had destroyed four wraith Hiveships and a dozen cruisers in the hour long battle. She pondered her fate and the fate of her three thousand surviving crewmembers as she looked out the bridge across her ship. Scorched and riddled with holes, over thirty percent of the ship was now inaccessible. Their Hyperdrive had been destroyed by several well placed shots by the four remaining cruisers after their shields had failed. Many of the emitters had been obliterated as well, meaning even with their shields once again online, they were only functioning at thirty percent. The Lantean Fleet would be unaware that they had survived, she knew a rescue wasn't coming.

"Tell the crew to go to the stasis pods. We've sent a distress call. Its only a matter of time before rescue arrives." She said to her first officer Bran as she tied her long black hair into a bun behind her. Better to give them some hope than none at all she thought as she powered down the ships systems and settled in for the long sleep. Her ship had been one of only thirty surviving battlecruisers left. Now she knew Atlantis would have even less to defend itself with when the wraith finally arrived next year.

EARTH

PACIFIC OCEAN

September 4, 2016

"General Sheppard, this is Homeworld Command. You are cleared for takeoff"

"Copy that. Firing up the Star drive now" After seven years the city ship slowly began to lift off from the ocean's surface. They were finally doing it. Finally returning to the Pegasus Galaxy. The Stargate Program had gone public almost four years ago to surprisingly little negative effect to the civilized world. Atlantis had become the nexus of technological advancement and scientific education. The best and brightest from all over the world lived, studied and taught in the massive city. Over ninety eight thousand civilians now called the city home. In addition to a massive military contingent. Atlantis was embarking with over Forty two thousand Servicemen and woman who now served under United States Pegasus Expeditionary Command or USPEGEXCOM. Led by Major General Sheppard. Quickly upon Atlantis's return to earth he had been made a full bird Colonel and remained in overall operational military command of Atlantis but had quickly been reassigned six months later to the US Air Force Strategic Operations Command. He and General Brooks had been formulating a plan for the last seven years to end the wraith threat. At the same time, Sheppard and many of the pilots of the Daedalus and Apollo had begun training the Pilots of the US Military in aerospace combat. Familiarizing them with wraith tactics and maneuvers and running countless combat simulations. In three years' time he was promoted to Brigadier General and made overall Operations commander of the SGC which for a time had been relocated to the Alpha Site while Atlantis was on earth.

In the last seven years not a single envoy of any allied force had been on earth or even been allowed to approach earth space. The sensors of Atlantis had made sure of that. An even deeper network of sensors buoys were deployed in and around the Sol System to detect any incoming ships in hyperspace or real space. All SGC operations for the time Atlantis was on earth were taken over by the Alpha Site. The Lucian alliance had made several attempts to sneak in Cloaked cargo ships and even alkesh but had been met with a 304 upon exiting hyperspace. The higher command echelons of every nation on earth agreed that Atlantis had to be protected at all costs, its existence could not be revealed to their allies under any circumstances. Atlantis would become their fallback, if earth fell, Atlantis would remain. General Sheppard had been under the tutelage of both General Landry and General O'Neill during his time as the SGC G-3. A year ago he had been promoted and made the overall commander USPEGEXCOM and told to make the city ready to head back to Pegasus. International and public pressure had reached a boiling point. The US claimed ownership of Atlantis since it had landed in US Territorial waters. To prevent the US from keeping the city the IOA agreed to send Atlantis back to Pegasus. The existence of the wraith had been revealed to the public and the suffering of the humans in the Pegasus Galaxy could no longer be ignored. Public outcry in the US was demanding a return of Atlantis to the Pegasus Galaxy and the resumption of combat operations. While the rest of the International Community was hesitant to commit to an intergalactic war the US had no choice but to listen to its voters. Democracy had spoken. The President had won his election on the campaign promise that they would return to Pegasus. Over two thirds of congress had lost their seats because they voted no to the AUMF against the Wraith and the return of Atlantis to Pegasus. Now with the elections over and the US fully committed to the war effort other nations were essentially letting the US handle the major logistical and Military aspects while they focused on humanitarian and diplomatic endeavors in the Pegasus Galaxy. Earth was now secure behind a vast network of defense satellites and over thirty operational battlecruisers along with the Outpost in Antarctica which was now controlled with the chair that had been recovered from Proclaush Tanos. While the dome that had been formed had collapsed the actual structure had remained relatively intact and the Odyssey had recovered the chair and a vast number of Drones to resupply the Platform in Antarctica.

The Avalona Galaxy as it was now officially called by Earth was in a relative state of peace and prosperity. The Free Jaffa Nation was rebuilding, reorganizing and just beginning to advance under the careful tutelage of the French and Russians along with a minor American advisory group. But the original expedition had not sat idly by, Dr. Mckay along with now Major General Carter had improved upon the Mark two Naquadah Generators and developed the Mark three and Mark four. The Mark Four was now tied into Atlantis's power system and took the strain off the ZPMs to power the non-essential systems and the life support and weapons systems. The Mark threes were the more portable versions, the size of a backpack now with ten times the power output of a mark one. In addition Doctors Keller and Beckett worked tirelessly with the Medical industry of Earth to perfect the serum Doctor Keller had created from Doctor Beckett's retro-virus. Two years ago it had been tested on Todd. The result was exactly what they had hoped for. His need to feed on the life force of humans had been eliminated and he now ate normal food. Todd had been quick to push for the mass distribution of the cure to his people, and while the President had agreed, he authorized the use of force against any wraith threatening a human world. The ethical debate that had resulted from the gene therapy and DNA manipulation had been a long and lively one. But the arguments against them were silenced when leaked security camera footage of a wraith drone feeding on a US Marine defending Atlantis hit the internet. Atlantis' Database for civilian areas had been released to the public for study and consumption. Ancient culture, language, medical data, advanced research on power generation. All of it available for public viewing. The hope was that many third world nations would benefit from the available knowledge. But much to the disappointment of the EU, US and many more developed nations, corruption ran rampant. The UN had to step In in many places to restore order with the assistance of US, Chinese and Russian troops.

As Atlantis lifted off and exited the Atmosphere the balcony's and piers of Atlantis were flooded with people as they watched the city ship enter hyperspace headed for the Pegasus Galaxy. They would arrive in less than two days. Coming behind the city was Deep Space Carrier group Five, led by the Daedalus and composed of the Athena, Achilles, Kowalsky and the Phoenix. Additional forces would follow at a later date.

With the citys population numbering over a hundred and fifty thousand, logistics were complicated but if the US Military did anything well it was Logistics. The City had the resources to sustain itself for over three years if necessary. But that was only in the unlikely event that the new Midway II Station went offline, which was highly unlikely given how secure the new station was.

As Atlantis reached the Pegasus Galaxy. The city dropped out of hyperspace periodically and deposited mobile sensor buoys in between star systems. The buoys were being deployed in a grid like pattern to maximize the early warning capabilities of the city. Effectively tripling the cities sensor range. Atlantis was settling in on a world completely off the grid of the stargate network. With a decent sized landmass and a very large ocean similar to the original Lantea for climate reasons.

After deploying over a hundred buoys the city finally exited hyperspace over their new home world. Rapidly descending through the atmosphere Sheppard gracefully and much easier than the last time touched down on the ocean's surface.

"And we are stabilized."

"I want a section by section report by the end of the day" Said Sheppard as he smiled a predatory grin. They were back and it was time to get to work.

"All systems are good, and sensor grid is online and operational. Stargate is calibrated and new address is uploaded" Said Amelia Banks from her station.

"Good, now let's get to work. Tell Colonel Lorne I want AR 1, 2, 3, and 4 deployed in the next week once we start off world ops and tell Lt. Col Teldy to go out and make contact with our offworld allies. Let em know were back in the neighborhood. Deploy the Kawalsky and Achilles to begin construction on the Alpha site and Beta Sites."

"Yes sir" She replied relaying the orders. Sheppard momentarily caught the glare from her new wedding ring. He would have to give Ronon a pat on the back for his choice of diamond. He turned around and walked down the stairs leading to the gate room. He was proud of his new command and decided he would walk around the city for a while that night.

As Operations began to ramp up, the civilians of the city continued to research and experiment with various new theories and ideas. The Head of Scientific research was still Dr. Rodney McKay and he had currently thirty potentially Nobel prize winning projects in the works. He was unhappy with having to get approval for new projects from the IOA rep who was just on her way to see General Sheppard. He had made it a policy that all department heads met Mondays at 0930 in the conference room of the gate room. He wanted to keep a good working relationship with his civilian counterparts and not cause any friction. After a week it seemed to him they were off to a good start.

GENERAL SHEPPARDS OFFICE

"General, I take it we're online?" Asked the new IOA representative Amanda Shenfield

"That would be correct, were gonna send colonel Teldy's team out first before we let the IOA get to work. I want to make sure the local population isn't upset with us being gone for so long" He said as they walked across the small walkway to his office.

"I agree, however I assume once that determination has been made you'll allow us to take the lead on diplomatic and humanitarian missions" She said reminding him of his place as the Military commander and not the civilian commander.

"Of course. I'm here to kick the wraith's ass. You can run that dog and pony show all you want" She offered him a light chuckle back.

"I'll be sure to inform you of how well the show is going"

"I look forward to it." He said as she left. Standing patiently outside was his new Administrative assistant, Lt Col Tracy Stevens

"Colonel Stevens, how are you?" He asked as he shook her hand once she had entered.

"Doing well sir" She replied as she sat down. "Initial reports from our sensor net sir" She said as she handed him a readout. Sheppard read it over twice before speaking.

"Minimal Activity throughout all sectors, only one hive detected and fourteen cruisers. For a quarter of the Galaxy?"

"Could be a lot of things sir. We honestly have no way of knowing just how much damage the Asurans did to the wraith or what toll their Civil war has had, and from what I see I doubt its even being waged anymore sir. G-2 Believes the wraith may have gone back into Hibernation. Colonel Wagner will have a briefing for you in the morning at 0900 sir and Colonel McFarland is requesting permission to take 4-25 to the mainland and conduct some airborne proficiency training"

"Permission granted and tell Wagner I want to send some scout teams to known wraith held worlds. We need to know what they're up to. Is that all?"

"Yes sir. That's all I got. Enjoy your evening sir"

"Thanks Tracy" He said as he continued to read over the other reports. This was the one thing that he hated. Paperwork. He checked his watch, fourteen forty three. Colonel Lorne and AR-1 were about to leave for M7G-485.

"Gate is dialed, Stable wormhole established"

"Colonel Lorne, give the coalition my regards and well wishes" He said down to the man he trusted as the leader of his flagship team and commander of all reconnaissance and exploration units.

Lorne smiled back at him and chuckled before saying "Will do sir" and then stepped through the gate with his eight man team. Sheppard waited until the gate shutdown before turning, as he was walking back to his office a technician manning the long range sensor station called out to him. "Sir!" He turned and looked back at the screen showing a red dot.

"What is it?" He said expecting the worst.

"One of our sensor buoys is reporting an unknown object. Its been trying to determine what it is for the last week or so."

"Week? Why the hell am I just now hearing about it?" McKay had designed these new buoys and he was going to have a word with him about this.

"It wasn't classified as hostile sir, programming is for active vessels of any origin. The sensors been trying to determine its classification from what little readings it getting back. The Buoys been trying a number of different tactics to determine what it is. It's finally realized it can't sir"

"Okay, where's it at?" Sheppard asked as he walked closer to the monitor.

"Here sir, there is a space gate at the edge of the system. It should take only five hours for a jumper to get there." Replied the technician

"Alright get me Colonel Moore on the radio. Colonel Lorne is off world so is Colonel Teldy's team, and four of our other teams. Need to see who's available" Colonel Moore was his Operations G-3

"Yes sir" Said the Technician as he radioed for the colonel. Sheppard walked back into his office to go over more paperwork while he waited for the Colonel to come up. It didn't take long before he waved through the glass.

"General, Lieutenant Green briefed me. We got three teams ready to go. Lt Col Vasquez and Major Lugo can take the lead with Captain Millsap backing them up." Said the balding fifty year old African American Colonel who stood almost four inches taller than Sheppard.

"Good, get them up to the jumper bay, and take Ronon and McKay as well and have General Caldwell on the Daedalus get ready to deploy just in case.

READY ROOM

Lt Col Sarah Vasquez had risen through the ranks of the SGC over the last ten years, originally being a Civil Affairs specialist. She had been picked by General Hammond in 2006 for the SGC prior to his retirement. She had taken part extensively in the war with the Ori and the takedown of the Baal Clones and the last of the system lords before transferring to Atlantis after being promoted. She had grown up in the harsh inner city of Los Angeles in the late 1980s and commissioned through the University of California in the late 1990s, serving twice in Iraq before being picked up by the SGC. She was a quick thinker and ruthless when needed. General Sheppard had expressed his hopes for her and she was going to make damn sure she didn't let him down. She had read up on the General and what he and his team had done and sacrificed for Earth. She respected him and his team more than anyone else on the base. As she finished strapping her Glock .23 to her Hip she surveyed the rest of her team. First Lt Kelsey Edge was from a small town in Kansas where she had been the towns beauty queen. Naturally blonde and athletic a lot of men had had their hearts broken by her. She was driven and extremely goal oriented. She had been recruited for the SGC straight out of BOLC for her exceptional test scores and excellent recommendations from her classmates and instructors. She had served for a year at the Alpha site SGC while Atlantis was on earth under Colonel Dixon on SG-13. Sarah trusted her to do her job. She was her scientific advisor and tech specialist. She was an expert in Ancient tech. Being in Atlantis had boosted her abilities a lot. Sarah knew she could handle herself in a combat situation, plus she also had the ATA Gene which was why she was her pilot.

Sergeant First Class Steven Adams was her team EOD and CBRN specialist along with a dozen other things he was qualified in. He was a Ranger Tabbed veteran of four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and also possessed the ATA gene. He was smart, and was constantly teaching LT Edge new things whenever he could. He was tall and stacked with muscle. He could hold his own against Ronon for a few minutes which was why she trusted him to have her back. Her last team member was her 2IC Captain Matthew Gibson. He came from 7th Special Forces group, not even twenty eight and he was already showing a receding hairline. He was shorter than her at 5'8 but weighed twenty pounds more in muscle. She didn't know much about him except that he knew his job and he knew it well. He was their teams heavy weapons specialist carrying the SAW.

"Alrights lets get this show on the road" She said as she lead the way to the jumper bay.

"So nothing else besides an unknown object that isn't naturally occurring five hours from the gate huh" Said Lt Edge as she fell into step on her left.

"Nope, we should be able to get accurate sensor scans when were about an hour out thou"

"Should be a nice enjoyable flight" Said Gibson as he cracked a small smile. Sarah smiled as she walked into the jumper and sat down in the co-pilots seat. She was supposed to get her gene inoculation next week and couldn't help but wish it had already been given to her. Ronon and Dr. McKay were already in the Jumper waiting for them.

"Alright Lt take us out" She said as the rear hatch closed "Yes ma'am. Flight this is Jumper 1, ready for takeoff."

"Copy Jumper 1, you are cleared for departure. Good luck out there"

"Copy Flight, be home in time for dinner." Sarah smiled at her last comment. "I hope so Lieutenant, im not very fond of MREs"

Kelsey gave raised her eyebrows at her and said "Nobody is ma'am".

"Actually I don't really mind them all that much" Said McKay as everyone gave him a look of wonder. He shrugged as she lowered the jumper through the roof in the gate room and aligned the jumper before surging forward through the gate. Re-emerging on the other side she was greeted by nothing but stars as far as she could see. Jumper Two came through two minutes behind them.

"Jumper two this is Jumper one, coordinates inputted follow us to the target"

"Copy Jumper one, should be a nice long flight"

KALLANA

Lt Col Teldy and Dr Porter were walking side by side with Staff Sergeant Victoria Bartlett and Captain Alicia Vega when the castle came into view.

"Wow that is pretty." Said SSG Bartlett as she took in the sight.

"Take a picture SSG, you can actually show it to your family now" Said Col Teldy as she waved at the guard who approached.

"State your business travelers" Said the royal guardsmen

"We seek an audience with her highness. Tell her we come from Atlantis" She replied. The guards face was a mixture of shock and fear. "We thought Atlantis had perished, nobody has heard from you in many cycles"

"Yes well we had to step away for a while. But we're back now" Replied Captain Vega as she gauged his reaction.

"I will inform the queen, please come and wait in the royal chamber." Said the Guard as he beckoned them to follow.

"Lead the way" Teldy replied "Anybody else get the feeling he was scared?"

"Indeed Colonel. Something is off here" Replied SSG Bartlett as she checked their surroundings

"But why would they be scared of us?" Asked Dr Porter as she too looked around.

"Could be any number of things, come on we best go figure it out"

After a mile walk, they were lead through the gates where they were met with stares and looks of distraught and fear from the locals.

"Why have you returned? Only death will come for us now" Shouted a villager as he held his daughter close.

"Be silent, they will speak with the queen" Said a guardsmen as he continued to walk beside them.

"Okay, something really bad is going on here" Said Vega as they walked into the Royal chamber. There many nobles watched them with looks of great sadness. They all rose as Harmony walked into the chamber.

"Your highness, I am Lt Col Teldy, this is Captain Vega, SSG Bartlett and Dr. Porter. From Atlantis" Teldy said as soon as she sat down.

"Where is Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay?" She replied as Col Teldy smiled.

"Its Actually General Sheppard now and Dr McKay is currently occupied, but they do send their well wishes"

"You're people have been gone for many years Colonel. May I ask where have you been?" Said the queen as she sat straighter.

"Unfortunately we had to return to our home Galaxy, but we're back now and looking to reestablish contact with our allies." She replied not giving away too much information.

"You must understand our hostility towards you now Colonel. Since you have left this Galaxy a great many things have happened. The Planetary Coalition remains, but the Genii now hold the most power, and they use it to their advantage greatly."

"I'm sure we can help with that." Said Captain Vega as she took note of the guards in the room.

"There is another matter" Said Harmony's sister standing behind her.

"The wraith realized you left this Galaxy, and as such have gone back into hibernation in order to allow the human population of this Galaxy to recover from their early awakening and to regrow their numbers. But before they did they left a warning on every world that they cull."

"What kind of warning?" Said Dr Porter

"That if your people were to ever return they would destroy the worlds of anyone who allied themselves with you. That they would awaken again, and the Cullings would be even worse than ever before."

Colonel Teldy looked at her team and exchanged a worried look.

"Years ago a vast majority of our people were off fighting an enemy even worse than the wraith. We finally won that war. As a result most of our military is now free to take the fight to the wraith, and we fully intend to."

Queen Harmony exchanged a nervous glance with her court and sisters before looking back at the Colonel.

ATLANTIS

The alarm was going off in the control room as General Sheppard walked in.

"What do we got?"

"Its AR-3 sir, they're under fire" Said Banks as she relayed the report to him.

"Wraith?" He asked just as she shook her head. "They're coming through now sir"

As he walked to the Balcony he saw Lt Col McHughs team come through, panting and out of breath.

"Colonel what happened?" Asked Sheppard as he walked up to them. He could see one of AR-3s men was bleeding from a small head wound.

"We took contact from the Genii sir. At first they didn't know who we were, but once we introduced ourselves things got bad quick. There was a small Genii garrison on the planet. The local village appears to be under occupation sir"

Sheppard sighed and nodded. This complicated things.

"Colonel, get your team to the infirmary and have em checked out. I want a briefing in an hour" He said as he walked back to Banks.

"Any word from any of our other teams?" He asked worriedly. Amelia shook her head back at him "No sir"

JUMPER 1

"Alright lets see what we got out here" Said Lieutenant Edge as she brought up the scanner. The HUD pooped up and clearly displayed the image of an Aurora class warship.

"Well ill be damned." Said McKay as he read the scans.

"Heavily damaged, the forward section is open to space. However life support is still online and most of the ship is pressurized. No life signs, looks like shes been out here awhile"

"Yeah say ten thousand years" Replied SFC Adams and Captain Gibson grunted in conjunction with him.

"Well either way it's a hell of a find" Replied Lt Edge.

"Any other debris or anything like that so suggest there was a battle?" Asked Ronon as McKay shook his head.

"No life signs?" Asked Sarah as she looked at the screen. "You're thinking about the Aurora Ma'am" replied Gibson more as a statement than a question.

"Yes, what if the crew is in stasis."

"They're wont be much we can do for them Ma'am. They're physical bodies would be far too old to revive for more than a few hours" Said SFC Adams

"Actually that's not true, the IOA has a contingency plan in the event of something like this" Replied Vasquez.

"They do?" Said Edge as she continued to fly the jumper.

"Yes, keep in mind we have the database of both the Asgard and the Ancients in our possession. If there's one thing the Asgard did exceptionally well it's Cloning" She replied as everyone else suddenly realized what the IOA's plan was.

"We can do that?" Asked Adams as he sat back.

"A chance to live, learn and serve besides living breathing Ancients. We can't let that go again." She said back. "That is not our fault" Shot back McKay

"If I recall the last time, they kicked us out of the city" Replied Captain Gibson.

"Yeah well I doubt General Sheppard is going to let that happen again" Said Ronon

"Either way, it's above all of our paygrades. Let's do a quick survey of the ship. Tell Jumper Two to form up on us. Take us into the Hanger bay." Said Vasquez as she turned back around.

ATLANTIS

Lt Col Tracy Stevens stood beside General Sheppard as he listened to Lt Col McHugh debrief his mission to the senior staff.

"So the Locals were hostile?" Asked Colonel Moore. Sheppard thought highly of the man, having been in the SGC for over fifteen years first as a captain on SG-6. Colonel Moore had seen even more action than Sheppard. Fighting against the Gou'ald and the replicators and then the Ori and now the wraith. Sheppard had picked him to be his Operations officer at the recommendation of General Landry. He had worked with Moore for two years while he was the SGC Operations officer at the alpha site and they pretty much saw eye to eye.

"Not at first sir. Once they realized who we were they turned hostile pretty quick. No idea as to why thou sir. Nothing we did was out of the ordinary or overly hostile. I can't think of anything we did to offend them"

"It could mean the local population of the Pegasus Galaxy is mad at us for leaving" Suggested Col Daniel Wilks of the 15th MEU. Sheppard didn't really know much about him except that he was a by the book Marine and his MEU was the alert force.

"Or it could mean the village was simply just hostile and they don't like visitors" Replied Col Wagner his G-2 Intelligence director. Sheppard knew this man was one of the best and he had shown it over the last seven years while they had systematically annihilated the Lucian Alliance with precision strikes, targeted assassinations and small scale ground action.

"It could mean any number of different things, sir I suggest before we rush to conclusions that we wait for all of our offworld teams to return and see what they have to report" Said Colonel Moore

"I have to agree sir." Said Brigadier General Lacy Thorn his actual second in command. She had been the Commander of SG-7 when Atlantis had returned to earth and had worked with Sheppard at the US Air Force Strategic Operations command after requesting to go to Atlantis. She had worked with him extensively in planning their return and then went on to serve as the commander of SG-2 for another two years while he was the G-3 before being selected for her first star and then leading the SGC G-1 for a year before he had snatched her up to be his 2IC.

"Alright Tracy how many teams do we have off world?" he asked his assistant. Sheppard liked her, she made his job ten times easier and had a way of making things flow.

"Four sir, and Col Vasquez and her two jumpers should have reached their objective by now. Mission clock is another eight hours"

"Colonel Wilkes I want a couple platoons ready to go in Stallions ready to back up Col Vasquez if necessary as well as our other teams" Sheppard ordered the Marine Colonel.

"Understood sir" He said turning to a Marine Major behind him and giving orders.

"Colonel Teldy's team went to Kallanna correct?" He asked her.

"Yes sir, their mission clock is now at four hours to return sir." Sheppard hesitated a second. He didn't want to cause a scene but he didn't want his operators going into potentially hostile situations with no knowledge.

"I want contact with all off-world teams ASAP. Start with planetary teams first. Tell General Caldwell to dispatch the Kawalsky to Col Vasquez position it'll take em about twelve hours to get there."

"Yes sir" She said as she walked away to carry out his orders. "Alright anything else?" the rest of the officers all shook their heads.

"Alright dismissed" He said as he stood up and the rest of them did so as well.

DERELICT ANCIENT WARSHIP

Lt Col Vasquez held her weapon at the ready along with Ronon and the rest of her team as the ramp lowered. The bay was mostly empty except for a half a dozen jumpers and an array of crates. "Alright Major Lugo, take the enginnering deck, I want an assessment on the engines and power systems ASAP" She said to her counterpart in the second jumper. Captain Millsap's Marines were already securing the entry points to the bay.

"Captain Millsap maintain a perimeter, stay in regular radio contact." She ordered as she and her team prepared to head to the bridge.

"Roger that ma'am, radio checks every ten minutes" He replied before moving towards a group of two young Marine Sergeants.

"Alright Dr. McKay which way" She said as she cleared another corner.

"Bridge is this way, but were also looking for stasis pods right?" He asked.

"We can look on the way" Replied Ronon as Adams took their six with Gibson beside him. As they continued to walk the ship slowly began to awaken to their presence. Lt Edge rounded another corner and stopped. "Well I guess that answers the question whether or not the crews alive." Said Vasquez. There were hundreds of Pods in front of them. All occupied. "So we're really going to clone them?" Asked Ronon as he gazed past them

"Its up to the IOA but I don't see why not" She replied as she wiped the frost of one of the pods. She stared deeply into the face of the woman occupying the pod. Her face was as old as any she had ever seen, with deep wrinkles and sunken eyes but a peaceful expression left behind.

"Lets get to the bridge" She said as she led the way.

In a few short minutes after encountering hundreds of more pods they arrived. McKay and Lt Edge quickly got to work powering up the ships systems and viewing the ships logs.

"Well it appears the ship is relatively intact, despite the obvious damage. Hyperdrive is practically destroyed but the subspace communications is offline. I can probably make a patch but it'll take awhile. Shields are only functioning at thirty percent, most of the emitters are damaged, but weapons are online for the most part. Even half an arsenal of drones"

"Engines?" Asked Gibson as he looked out the window.

"Operating at thirty percent capacity why?" Replied Kelsey as she checked them.

"So that way we don't have to take a five hour trip back to the gate" Replied Ronon as gave the Lt a grin.

"Right, I guess ill set a course for the gate. We should be there in about an hour or so." She replied sitting in the Captain's chair.

"Don't get to comfortable in that chair Lt" Said Vasquez giving her a small grin. Kelsey's face fell for a moment before replying with a grin "right"

"Alright we're not over due back at Atlantis for another eight hours. But we'll dial the gate as soon as we get there and send a SITREP" She said as she walked around the bridge.

"So how long will it take to grow the clones?" Asked Adams from the hallway.

"About a month or so, it all depends on the body specifics really." Replied Mckay as he continued to work on the ships systems.

"In the meantime, Ronon, Adams, Gibson why don't yall go check out the rest of the ship and see what all we have out there."

ATLANTIS

Another team had come back two hours early and reported the villagers had asked them to leave and not return once they knew who they were. Sheppard and his staff were now preparing for the possibility of hostile intentions on every world they visited.

"Colonel Lorne and Colonel Teldy's team are due back in a few hours sir. We made radio contact with Colonel Lorne and he reports they're secure but have had no contact. Looks like the coalition may have moved sir" Said Col Stevens as she briefed him.

"And Colonel Teldy's team?" He asked her.

"They're out of radio range sir."

"Send through the Stallions, I want aerial coverage of the gate and have those teams prepared for hostile extract if necessary"

"Sir it's Queen Harmony's planet"

"And she may no longer in control, we have no way of knowing the situation on the ground"

"Incoming wormhole! Unscheduled off world activation" Shouted Amelia as Sheppard turned to face her.

"What do we got?" He said looking at the screen.

"Receiving IDC sir, its Colonel Vasquez, video on screen." Amelia said before letting her jaw drop.

Sheppard was momentarily surprised to see her standing on the bridge of an Aurora class warship.

"Colonel I seem to recall sending you guys in a pair of jumpers not an Aurora class warship" He said with a slight smile.

"Ships pretty banged up sir, but she's intact. Were secure, and the crew is also alive. In stasis but according to Mckay there's no neural feedback loop, it appears they're just in stasis"

"How many?" He asked as h thought to what the new policy was

"Over three thousand sir"

Sheppard smiled. He knew what the IOA contingency plan was. He had helped draft it.

"Excellent work Colonel. The IOA might just be excited to see their plan come into fruition."

"Agreed sir. We'll work on stabilizing the ship and prepping for additional teams to arrive"

KALLANNA

Lt Col Teldy was disappointed. After a three hour long meeting, Queen Harmony had decided not to ally themselves with the new Atlantis expedition for fear of reprisal. A Genii representative had actually entered the meeting thirty minutes later and threatened her and her team with a warning. That any world they stepped foot on that was part of the coalition would be seen as a hostile act and they would be treated just as the wraith were.

It was not the reunion she was hoping for, but in a way she couldn't blame them. They had after all abandoned them all.

ATLANTIS

The CX-27 Stallion was Earth's copycat of the puddle jumper, designed for gate travel with an added desire for firepower. She was basically a hybrid between an Apache and a Chinook helicopter. Menacing and powerful. Capable of transporting an entire platoon of Infantrymen into battle. Her shields and cloaking systems rivaled that of a puddle jumper with a targeting system for her missiles that essentially used the same tracking system as a drone allowing the missiles to be guided remotely by the pilots mind. Eight Stallions were kept in a mission ready alert status on the east pier. Six platoons of Paratroopers were always nearby, ready to kit up and embark on whatever mission that came their way. The remaining two were designated SAR aircraft. With two trauma surgeons and Air force Para rescue jumpers assigned to each one.

On the west pier, which had been turned into an airfield essentially. Over a hundred Stallions were parked side by side. With numerous F-302c and Trident fighters routinely taking off and landing.

General Sheppard stood watching all of the activity on the balcony of the control room. Deep in thought he almost didn't notice Lt Col Tracy Stephens come in.

"Sir" She said coming to stand to his left.

"What is it Col?" He asked as she lifted up her tablet.

"The IOA wants to attempt a diplomatic course of action still. They want to hold a summit meeting here on Atlantis."  
"Hell no. The Local population can't be trusted. We do it on an uninhabited planet. I want the Achilles and Daedalus in orbit of the planet as well. Have the 1-501st establish a perimeter 1000 meters in all directions from the gate. Stallions cloaked nearby for hot extract. I wouldn't doubt that the wraith have a few worshippers in the coalition that will inform them were back."

"Planning an ambush sir?"

"More of a demonstration of force and commitment" He said knowing that to bring Pegasus population back to their side they would have to show they were dead serious about taking on the wraith.

"Tell McKay I want the Cloning of the ancients to take priority. If the Ancients become our public image, the galaxy will rally to us. And they have over a hundred years of combat experience against the wraith that we can use."

"Roger that Sir"

DR MCKAYS LAB

Rodney was busy upgrading the sensory buoys after the discovery of the aurora class warship and now had reprogrammed the buoys to alert them to any type of craft or solid metal objects. He already had the design plans for the cloning facility here on Atlantis. However they could only clone around three hundred or so at a time, so Sheppard had identified all of the officers aboard and tagged them as the first ones to be cloned.

Mckay was excited, because he knew Sheppard would not let what had happened before happen again. And DSCG 5 was preparing to launch the first phase of Sheppard's grand strategy to wipe out the wraith. Thankfully that plan did not depend on the cooperation of the planets indigenous population. The damaged ancient warship had a new hyperdrive installed over the last three days and was currently on the way to Atlantis.

Lt Kelsey Edge had said it best for him, what better way to get the galaxy back on their side then to return the ancients.

SHEPPARDS QUARTERS

Sheppard was going over last minute paperwork anxiously awaiting the start of phase one. General Caldwell was now beginning the preparations to deploy once the ancient warship that still didn't have a name returned to Atlantis. The Army Corps of engineers and the Air force red horse squadrons assigned to Atlantis were about to prove their mettle in rebuilding the once proud warship.

After conferring with the IOA rep he had decided that the summit they had sent out invitations to yesterday would be held on a densely forested world that made entry by dart impossible. Any assault would have to come by ground or space, and he had both of those covered. The 1-501st Parachute Infantry Regiment had deployed in mass the day before the invitations were sent out. The Battalion Mortar team had zeroed in their cannons on the gate. Machine gun nests were camouflaged and emplaced. A battalion TOC was set up three hundred meters away from the gate and out of site from the main pathway. A large mobile hanger system had been set up to accommodate any dignitaries that showed up. Sheppard didn't expect many, but the IOA remained hopeful. He had ordered Colonel Myers to make sure his men couldn't be seen once they were in place. And as a result the Genii scout team that had arrived only hours after the invitation went out had no idea they were surrounded by over six hundred paratroopers. So far the scout team hadn't ventured far from the gate and were staying in the local vicinity of the gate. Under the watcheful eyes of eighty men and over twenty M240 Machine guns.

M7X-673

The densely forested world selected by General Sheppard held no significane to anyone who had received the gate address. It was uninhabited. Yet it prevented the wraith from attacking with darts and the sensor grid had not detected any wraith vessels in the vicinity. So the meeting was going forward.

Staff Sergeant Eric Soto monitored the ten man Genii team that stood around the gate through his ACOG optic. They had explored only slightly since arriving yesterday. The summit was scheduled for three hours from now. He was over two hundred meters from gate and concealed by moss and local vegetation that he had moved to obscure his presence. His gunner was laying down next to him observing the Genii team through his MGO attached to his M240. Soto knew the 19 year old kid next to him could take out all ten of the genii in less than three seconds.

All of a sudden the gate activated. The Genii team reacted with surprise and then moved to either side of the gate. A contingent of Pegasus Galaxy natives came through. Six men and three women, they were surprised to see the Genii standing there with their weapons pointed at them.

"You people are fools. The Atlanteans abandoned us all to the wraith and you come crawling back to them like dogs" Said the Captain of the scout team. He was clearly trying to dissuade them from going down the path to where the 501st had erected the large hangar. While it wasn't visible from the gate the message sent out had given them all instructions that they would need to walk five minutes down the path to get to it.

"We are only here to see what they have to say." Said the elder man

"And to bring death and destruction to your people?" the Genii team leader replied.

"How would the wraith know we are here?" Said the man now frightened,

"It wont be the wraith. The Genii have declared the people of Atlantis to be an enemy of the Coalition. As such, any attempt to ally with them will be seen as an act of treason against us"

"My apologies, I do not wish for a repeat of tralaga on my people. We will leave"

Lt Col Matt Myer had overheard the conversation from the TOC and gave an order he knew he would have to answer for.

"Detain em, All of them. Lethal Force is authorized."

The one hundred troopers near the gate now moved in within seconds. Appearing from all directions and moving in too fast for the Genii team to effectively resist. The stunners hit each one of them almost simultaneously. The delegation that had just arrived now cowered in fear.

SSG Soto spoke to them first.

"Ladies and Gentleman, please don't be afraid. The Genii will not harm you."

ATLANTIS

General Sheppard had called in Colonel Wagner to discuss what they knew about the Genii's military capabilities.

"Well sir, not much, we know they have nukes but other than that. Not much is really known about them. They have extensive operations throughout the Galaxy. But as to how extensive those ops are we don't know."

"Yeah I was afraid you were going to say that." He sighed "Alright time for plan B"

The 501st had interrogated the Genii scout team and learned that they had gone to every world that Atlantis had sent an invitation too and threatened Nuclear annihilation to any world that went to the summit.

"Banks, sent out a memo to all Military personnel, Genii forces as of this moment are to be considered hostile. Rules of engagement option four now in effect. Engage on sight. Tell 4-25 and the 15th MEU to break out their chem gear. The Genii might actually be willing to use their nukes. Dial the Genii homeworld"

"Yes sir" She replied dialing the address.

Once the connection was established, He keyed his radio

"This is General Sheppard commander of United States Pegasus Expeditionary Command calling for the Genii, please respond?" He heard nothing but Static for a few minutes.

"This is Commander Tysen leader of the Genii. Why have you returned?" Sheppard heard over the radio.

"Commander Tysen, what happened to Mr Radim?"

"He was executed many years ago for his failure to lead our people. We have a new path under my leadership. Our people are prospering and safer than ever. The Wraith have returned to slumber, our people will not know another culling for hundreds of years. Now you return and threaten to ruin all of that. What gives your people the right to toil in our affairs. You are not even from this galaxy. The city of the Ancestors should belong to us, we demand you hand over Atlantis to us and return to your home galaxy."

"None of that is going to happen. For one youre out prospering at the suffering of others, two you and your people have no idea how to operate this city, three the wraith will wake up, and im looking forward to kicking their ass. That is why we are back, Something you and the rest of this galaxy are going to learn really fast is that you don't want to mess with us. That's a warning, we don't need to establish diplomatic relations with anyone. We have the logistical support and resources we need coming from our home Galaxy. Not to mention I currently have over a hundred and fifty thousand personnel now serving on Atlantis. So good luck with trying to take the city by force. As for your threat of war. That's not a fight you can even hope to come close to winning. So do what is best for your people and stay out of our way Commander"

"All this way from home and you think you and your people can survive without help from anyone else in this galaxy. The Coalition of planets now encompasses nearly every human world. Some have secluded themselves, but we will win them over General. Your people cannot survive out here. Our Nuclear weapons will ensure our victory. We have already won the war. The people of this Galaxy know what we are capable of. They have seen the power of our weapons. Perhaps we shall demonstrate them for you. If only to encourage your surrender."

"We analyzed the wreckage of the world you used your nukes on. A two hundred kiloton detonation is childs play compared to the magnitude of the weapons we have at our disposal. However I think we have other options available to us. See unlike you we understand that it is the inherit right of any world to decide who they wish to ally themselves with. Your threats and warning are meaningless to us. We will talk again soon commander" Sheppard ordered the gate shut down.

"Sir, are we really going to go to war with them?" Asked Col Tracy behind him.

"No, tell General Caldwell to remove the DHD from the Genii homeworld. Beam it up to the Daedalus. But leave the gate, let their people go home. Then sent out another message to the Coalition, tell them the Genii have exactly one month to return home or they will never be able to return home. In one month well take the gate too. That eliminates that problem. And inform the IOA of my decision. It should make their jobs easier."

"Roger that sir, and Doctor McKay reports that the cloning process is currently on track. Captain Alya will be fully grown and ready for consciousness transfer by the end of the week."

"That's really creepy. Shes over ten thousand years old, and were saying were growing her. Its just weird."

"Mckays words sir not mine" Sheppard cringed.

"Colonel Wagner reports that the sensor nets have reported an increase in wraith activity. Three hive ships now active along with thirty cruisers." Sheppard let out a small sigh. Alright time to turn up the heat he thought.

"Tell General Caldwell, target the hive ships first, cruisers second. Priority targets are for any wraith vessel heading for a human occupied world."

"Tell Colonel Wagner that I want it leaked through his operatives already in place that we have begun a massive resettlement operation of struggling Pegasus Galaxy Natives. Pick a random world that's uninhabited. No Dart access. Actually make it a world without a Stargate, that way the Wraith have to come by ship, and if we're lucky they'll assemble a pretty big fleet to go and attack it"

"Yes sir. I almost feel sorry for them sir." She replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, almost but not quite" He replied with a chuckle. "Lets go see how Mckay is doing"

MCKAYS LAB

McKay was just finishing calibrating the updates to the sensor buoys when Sheppard walked in.

"Oh, I was just about to update the sensor grid. Care to wait and see what other things are out there." He said gleefully

"Just in this corner of the Galaxy" Sheppard replied as he sat down.

"Yes well, we cant exactly put out a net over the entire galaxy. At least not yet." He said confidently as he updated the system. The screen showed the status bar slowly crawl to 100 percent as the update reached all of the buoys. Once it did, it took them ten seconds to reset. Sheppard started tapping while waiting and Mckay gave an annoyed glance until the computer began rapidly beeping. On the screen it now showed over a hundred new contacts classified as unknown-inactive.

"Oh well that's a lot. The Sensors should be able to profile most of it thou. We expected to read a lot of destroyed wreckage and debris. Obviously from the war and stuff but at least seven of the contacts are showing up as single contacts in dead space, voids between solar systems or in stellar orbits."

"More ships like the travelers or more ancient ships" Sheppard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Umm not sure, hold on" He said as he inputted more commands and several of the contacts began to display more data. Some contained the wreckage of hundreds of ships, others just debris fields. Still some the buoys couldn't classify at all.

"Whoa if this is right we have three more potentially salvageable aurora class warships out there, plus what im guessing are two ancient scout ships. Maybe im not sure"

"Three huh?" He gave Rodney a quizzing look. "What?"

"If I keep sending General Caldwell out like this hes going to start charging me" Sheppard replied.

"Hey more warships means more firepower to use against the wraith." Mckay pointed out.

"Im not disagreeing Rodney, just that it seems alittle too convenient." He said back. Not that the prospect of four Ancient warships didn't excite him.

"Yes well they've been there for thousands of years and we never knew about any of them cause we didn't have the sensors at our disposal."

Sheppard smiled and walked out and after he patted Mckay on the back. Three more ships to repair and bring back here. Maybe they could rescue those crews too.

EAST PIER CLONING LAB 1 WEEK LATER

General Sheppeard, General O'Neill, General Carter and General Abrams stood by in the observation deck of the lab along with the President of the United States, President James R Morrison. Doctor Keller, Doctor Beckett and several other prominent doctors stood nearby as well. Doctor McKay and Zelenka were down in the lab preparing to transfer the mind of Captain Renna Alya into her new fully grown body. Amanda Shenfield stood next to the President and other members of the IOA, standing behind her was Daniel Jackson and Teal'c, along with Major General Mitchell and Vala Mal Doran, who was now the administrator of the US Black Ops training academy run out of Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, specializing in running Black ops in the galactic area of operations. Teal'c had just finished his first and last term and supreme leader of the FJN. A dozen other dignitaries and high ranking members from earth stood nearby as well.

"Okay here we go" Said Rodney as he initiated the transfer. The device behind him began to glow brightly and then slowly dim as the transfer was complete. Doctor Keller made her way over to the Captain and gently said "Hello my name is Doctor Keller, how do you feel?"

Captain Renna Alya could her the voice of the human in front of her but she wasn't focused enough on her to process what she had said. She was shocked, disoriented and frankly unbelieving. She had not expected to ever wake up, much less in a body that felt younger than when she had gone into stasis.

"Where am i?" She said in ancient before realizing the human didn't speak it. Then she repeated it in the human tongue "Where am I?"

"Atlantis, although probably not the one you remember. My name is Doctor Jennifer Keller, im the deputy chief of Medicine here on Atlantis."

"My ship, my crew! What has happened to them?" She asked frantically

"Whoa whoa whoa calm down, they're okay. We saved them too. Unfortunatley your bodies were far too old for us to revive you." Stated Doctor Keller much to the confusion of the Captain.

"Perhaps I should explain further Doctor" Said the President as he walked into the room. Doctor Keller nodded and excused herself.

"First let me say welcome home Ma'am. We look forward to learning as much as we can from all of your people. The chance to live, learn and work with you is something that we have strived for for many years. I am humbled to be the first to extend the hand of friendship to you, and it is my sincerest hope that you will reciprocate that offer of friendship." Said the President extending his hand.

Renna was still confused but she took the mans hand and shook it. She was hardly in a position not to. She offered a smile back before the man introduced himself and then went on to explain how she got here

"We found your ship, disabled, adrift and forgotten in the far reaches of this corner of the galaxy. Our team knew your bodies were far too old to be revived. We encountered a similar situation almost ten years ago when we found the Aurora" When he said that her face lit up.

"Unfortunately the wraith intervened and we lost the ship and its crew. But we made sure to extra precautions to safeguard you and your crew captain. While it will take some time to clone the rest of your crew and transfer the minds in the way that we have done to you. It is our sincerest hope that you do not have any ill will towards us." "NO! I could not. I am in your debt, President Morrison as is my crew."

"Then we are honored Ma'am to simply be in your presence at all. You see we call you the Ancients, throughout most of the Galaxy you are referred to as the Ancestors. You are worshipped, revered and highly respected. It has been over ten thousand years since the Ancients have had any large presence in this city. You are admired, missed, and now we are in desperate need of your guidance. But I feel I must make something very clear Captain, my people have made an incredible investment into the safety and security of this city. We have shed more than our fair share of blood. We will not be leaving. We came from Earth. That is our home and I understand the City is yours. But we are not just here to study and learn. We have a plan to end the Wraith threat once and for all. With your help we believe we can finish our plan even sooner"

Renna paused for a long moment before speaking again. She did not feel right to ask these people to fight her peoples war. Nor should they have to. But here they were asking her to help them as if they had assumed the mantle of the protectors of the Galaxy. A mantle her people had once claimed for themselves. Now no more, she realized. If her crew were the last of her kind then she would need all the help she could get.

"If what you say is true. I have no right to ask you to leave, nor would I. Instead I am in your debt. As I said before. Ten thousand years ago we failed this Galaxy. Our arrogance and over-confidence cost us far too much before we realized just how dangerous the wraith would become. But by then it was too late. We could win almost every battle, but we saw no way to win the war. I did not think that Atlantis would survive for so long as it has. For the humans of earth to have come so far speaks magnitudes of your people Mr. President. I would not disrespect you or your people by insulting you with the notion that you do not have a place here. It is instead me who's for your help. My people will need help, resources and protection. Which you obviously can provide. I look forward to the beginnings of a long and prosperous relationship between our two peoples" The beaming smile on the face of the President told her everything she needed to know about her standing with these people. She doubted she could ever repay them for rescuing her and her crew, but she fully intended to try.

Many of the original members of the expedition and the legends themselves of Earth smiled and Generally thought the same thing.

At last. The Ancients have returned.


End file.
